12/12/15

Mack - I am not sure if anybody
else noticed, or even cared but...... I found it very interesting that taking
center stage at the winter meetings for the Mets was the assistant general
manager Ricco. Just looking at the title of Ricco's position as general
manager, it makes perfect sense of course. In the Mets case however, I find it
very interesting that the other heads of Alderson's hand picked Troika,
Ricciardi & DePodesta stayed out of the spotlight. I wonder who might have
taken a more leading role, if any.

Mack
– Thanks for the question, Bob.

My guess is this
came from the Wilpons out of respect for the years he has been part of the
organization. Ricco joined the Mets in 2004 and became Assistant General
Manager in 2006. He was then named as the interim General Manager when Omar
Minaya exited and ran the team until Sandy
Alderson arrived.

Like you, I always
wondered which VP was #2, Ricciardi or DePodesta. I guess we’re going to have
to wait longer to find out someday.

I
was surprised to read a story by Mark Simon
about how the Mets have improved their middle infield… wait for it… defense.

Some
facts he stated:

Over the last three seasons, Daniel Murphy had 106 Good Fielding Plays and 104
Defensive Misplays and errors in a little more than 2,800 innings at second
base, including an 11/18 rate in 2015

Neil
Walker had 145 Good Fielding Plays and 73 Misplays and errors in just
over 3,500 innings, including a 36/24 rate in 2015.

Cabrera graded
out at -8 defensive runs saved in 1,141 innings in 2015

Mets shortstops combined for
-26 defensive runs saved last season, the worst total for any team at an
infield position

We
talked earlier this week about the increase in offensive production with Walker
and Cabrera so, on the surface, there seems to be a win-win situation here.

My
last thoughts on Jon Niese,
after his half-assed verbal shot at the Mets (“I’m sure
what I’ll appreciate more than anything is the way the Pirates play defense. I’m
looking forward to that.”)

First, I met him
three times in my life, all in the Mets clubhouse. He was always respectful to
me both as a reporter and as a human being.

Reports I had was
he did not enjoy playing for the New York Mets. I don’t know why and I can’t
prove if this statement is true, but I’ve been told it multiple times.

Even more than
that, I’ve been told he hated playing for Terry Collins.
Again, no proof, just statements from others.

I wish him well in
Pittsburgh except for the days he is chosen to pitch against the Mets. I think
every baseball player goes on the field and tries to do their best, regardless
of what team they play for or who they are playing against.

Except Chase
Utley,
but that’s another story.

Good luck Jon. I
think you were a great Met. I really do.

On
the Asdrubel
Cabrera signing –

I’m being told that Cabrera was ‘Plan 3’
if the Zobrist deal didn’t go through. ‘Plan 2’ was Neil
Walker. The Mets wasted little time
in calling back Pittsburgh and putting that to bed, but, in the long run, Mets
VPs decided they couldn’t pass up the chance to upgrade the team at shortstop
as well.

The
Mets SS Alfredo Reyes (Pirates)
was chosen in the minor league phase of the Rule V Draft. Reyes was an
ex-international bonus baby that hit .228 (232-AB) last year for Brooklyn. His
best year as a Met was 2013 (DSL Mets) where he hit .316

I guess most, if not all, of us are in agreement that the Cuddyer money should be allocated to resigning Cespedes. I would love to see that happen, but I am not optimistic, since there are other signings we need as well, and with Ces, there might be enough payroll flex to do them. (In addition to a CF, we need another starter like Colon and at least one solid reliever for the 8th inning)

Consider, if they sign either Parra or Span to platoon with Lagares, we wouldn't get the pop we would get with Cespedes, but we'd get a leadoff hitter (enabling Terry to bat Grandy in the middle of the order) with a similar avg, much higher OBP, more SB's and superior defense. And then we could make a strong run at Carlos Gomez as a FA after the 2016 season, if he comes back in 2016 with the Astros.

Saving $12 mil for one year doesn't exactly free up enough money to segment Cespedes for $120 million for six. At least, I don't think the Wilpons will see it that way. Also, something tells me that despite his monstrous two months, the org doesn't really like him.

An interesting thing I've noticed, and it started in the second half last year, is that the FO keeps talking about getting their infielders rest. I'm a big fan of the idea that most guys, over a long hot season, will play better at 130-140 games played than 150-160. Particularly in the post-amphetamine world. I think that having depth and versatility on the IF will let them do that, and I was pleasantly surprised at how flexible Terry was doing just that after Johnson and Urine showed up. I'm a big Flores fan, for instance, and I'd get the kid a 1B glove and have him playing somewhere on the IF 5 days per week. He's not a great SS, but we've seen that he can handle it, and he could become a very valuable guy with a long career as a 500 AB "utility" guy. If they do a decent job mixing it up, I think all of them will benefit.

Mack-I think there are several options to back up Duda. You know there has been a lot of talk about giving both TdA and Plawecki time at other spots (1B makes a lot of sense) and I'd like to see them do the same with Flores & Wright. Additionally, I DFA Tejada and resign Kelly Johnson. Do you think that would give us enough backup?